Archive for July, 2013

Leaked new army manual: US troops are wearing “enemy uniform although Geneva Conventions prohibit this”. It comes as anti-Assad groups admit a “third force” sparked the war, while unexplained snipers triggered the coup in Egypt; Christof Lehmann tells The Truthseeker how the UN is the “instrument for warfare” preparing the ground for America’s next colonies; shocking torture footage of the West’s Arab dictators; and why the Saudis did 9/11.

Security researcher Barnaby Jack has passed away in San Francisco, only days before a scheduled appearance at a Las Vegas hacker conference where he intended to show how an ordinary pacemaker could be compromised in order to kill a man.

Jack, who previously presented hacks involving ATMs and insulin pumps at the annual Black Hat conference in Vegas, was confirmed dead Friday morning by the San Francisco Medical Examiner’s office, Reuters reported. He passed away Thursday this week, but the office declined to offer any more details at this time.

Jack’s death came one week to the day before he was scheduled to detail one of his most recent exploits in a Black Hat talk called “Implantable Medical Devices: Hacking Humans.”

“I was intrigued by the fact that these critical life devices communicate wirelessly. I decided to look at pacemakers and ICDs (implantable cardioverter defibrillators) to see if they communicated securely and if it would be possible for an attacker to remotely control these devices,” Jack told Vice last month.

Black Hat’s organizers will not be filling Jack’s spot at the event as a mark of respect for a “legendary and irreplaceable” man. Security firm IOActive also tweeted their condolences in homage of their“beloved pirate.”

After around six months of research, Jack said he developed a way to hack one of those devices remotely and send it a high-voltage shock from upwards of 50 feet away.

Deodorant is an essential toiletry that most Americans have in their medicine cabinet today. Many are still unaware of the hidden dangers in the active ingredients of modern day deodorant. They continue to use these potentially hazardous chemicals on their underarms as a way of reducing perspiration and odor.The primary ingredient used in most antiperspirants is aluminum. Aluminum is a metal, which is used in antiperspirants to help block the sweat from escaping the pores. Aluminum has been linked to breast cancer in women and has also been linked to an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Several studies have shown a link between increasing antiperspirant use and rising rates of female breast cancer and prostate cancer in men. However, the FDA has not committed to classifying it as a carcinogen. Their position remains one of “wait and see” as more definitive studies are released.Parabens are a family of synthetic preservatives that are often found in deodorants as well. In fact, parabens are contained in an alarming amount of our body care products. A random sampling of 100 human urine specimens performed by the CDC showed that all 100 contained parabens. This demonstrates the high absorption rate of chemicals we place on our skin.The largest concern is that the absorption of these chemicals will disrupt our delicate hormonal balance. This can lead to things like early puberty in children and an increased risk of hormonal cancers. Paraben exposure has also been linked to birth defects and organ toxicity.Propylene glycol is another common ingredient that is used in antiperspirants and deodorants. This is a petroleum based material that is used to soften cosmetic products due to its slick consistency. It is a cheap way to make skin care products more easily applicable to the skin.The argument that propylene glycol is safe in small amounts has been questioned by consumer safety advocates. In large quantities, studies have shown that it can cause damage to the central nervous system, liver and heart.This chemical is even found in many of the processed foods we eat today. Logical thought follows that decreasing our exposure to propylene glycol is the prudent thing to do. It is for this reason that using skin care products that are propylene glycol free is becoming popular in health conscious circles.Phthalates are another class of chemicals that are often used in deodorants and antiperspirants that you may want to avoid. Phthalates are used in cosmetics, synthetic fragrances, plastics, body care products and medical goods. They help to dissolve other ingredients and to create a better consistency.The problem with phthalates is that they have been linked to a variety of health issues. High phthalate blood and urine levels in women of child bearing age have been linked to a higher risk of birth defects. This suggests that phthalates may disrupt hormone receptors as well as increase the likelihood of cell mutation.Triclosan is another common ingredient included in commercial deodorants. It is utilized as the odor killing part of antiperspirants for its anti-bacterial properties. It is also commonly used in antibacterial soaps, hand wipes and gels.Triclosan is actually classified as a pesticide by the FDA. It is also classified as a probable carcinogen by the Environmental Protection Agency. This classification has prompted some companies to remove it from their products. However, it still can be found as an ingredient in some formulas. (NaturalNews)

A pair of high-tech Army blimps is coming to the greater Washington, DC area, and soon they will be able to provide the military with surveillance powers that spans hundreds of millions of acres from North Carolina to Niagara Falls, Canada.

The airships are part of Raytheon’s Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System, or JLENS, and when all is said and done they’ll offer the United States military what the defense contractor calls “an affordable elevated, persistent over-the-horizon sensor system” that relies on “a powerful integrated radar system to detect, track and target a variety of threats.”

Raytheon has just wrapped up a six-week testing period in the state of Utah and is now sending its JLENS fleet to the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. Once there, the Army intends to get some hands-on experience that will eventually culminate in launching the pair of airships over Washington, DC.

The city of Miami has stirred controversy after a commissioner floated the idea of reneging on a landmark agreement that instructs police officers not to arrest the homeless for largely minor offenses.

In 1998 Miami enacted an agreement on the heels of Pottinger v. City of Miami, which instructed law enforcement to take a soft stance on infractions such as littering, cooking a meal in public using a fire, or defecating in public without first offering them a bed in a shelter. While the homeless might be considered a nuisance by some, in legal terms the city adopted a live-and-let-live mentality.

The decree, or settlement, adopted by the city came after 6,000 homeless individuals with the support of the American Civil Liberties Union took on the status of what had been arrestable offenses in Miami, arguing that police had “criminalized” homelessness, violating plaintiff’s rights under the Fourth, 14th and Eighth Amendments.

Miami City Commissioner Marc Sarnoff has now proposed modifications to city code, describing the homeless situation as a “chronic problem” for the city.

Current city law defines “life-sustaining activities” as offenses not warranting arrest. These can include activities such as blocking sidewalks, sleeping in public or lewd conduct.

In June a majority of the city’s commission voted to appeal a federal court to alter the terms of the 1998 settlement. At least some of the city’s commissioners also support hiring the same law firm that fought against the landmark case of 1998, according to Florida Watchdog.

Currently there are an estimated 835 homeless people in Miami-Dade County, of which 351 live on the streets of the city and routinely turn down offers of shelter, usually either due to drug addiction and mental conditions.

According to the Miami Herald, there are a number of local agencies addressing issues faced by the chronically homeless. Historically, the number of homeless is now far lower than the estimated 6,000 individuals prior to the 1998 landmark Pottinger ruling, and that is in large part attributed to the annual $40 million budget of the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust, which now offers thousands of beds at homeless shelters throughout South Florida.

Benjamin Waxman, a volunteer lawyer for the ACLU, says the city is now worried about its cosmetic appearance.

“I think what bothers [the city] is their presence, because they are trying to project the image of Miami as a center of international travel and business, and they see the homeless as interfering with their intentions,” said Waxman.

Proposals now being considered by the city would give police the authority to arrest those homeless people who refuse shelter on three occasions within a 180-day period, as well as confiscate their belongings.

Beyond the ACLU, there are a number of organizations nationwide that advocate for cities avoiding what critics call the “criminalization” of homelessness through arbitrary law enforcement of city codes.

For example, a 2009 report by The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty and The National Coalition for the Homeless argued that the cost of permanent housing is less than that of criminalizing the typical offenses made by homeless individuals.

The NLCHP / NCH report also highlighted approaches taken by other municipalities such as Portland, Oregon, which enacted a 10-year plan through which outreach workers were able to offer people living on the streets permanent housing.

According to the Miami Herald, the city’s shelters are already at capacity, and advocates for the homeless argue that the city commission’s plans to criminalize the homeless rather than increase funding for additional shelter would be counterproductive.

The FBI has reviewed thousands of criminal cases and suspects that 27 death penalty convictions may have been secured by using faulty and exaggerated testimonies that may have wrongfully linked defendants to crimes.

A joint review by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Justice Department was launched after the Washington Post last year reported that flawed forensic work by FBI hair examiners might have led to the convictions of innocent people. The article suggested that Justice Department officials knew of the flaws, but failed to acknowledge them.

Last July, federal officials announced that they would investigate old criminal cases to see if faulty testimonies influenced death penalty convictions. More than 21,700 FBI Laboratory files are being examined, and at least 120 convictions have already been identified as potentially suspicious. Of these, about 27 were death penalty convictions, the Post reports.

Investigators suspect that these convictions may have been influenced by FBI hair examiners who exaggerated the significance of their findings. These experts linked defendants to crimes based on “matches” from microscopic analysis of hair found at crime scenes. Many of these experts claimed that their hair analysis tests definitively confirmed the identity of the offender.

But such statements were often misleading: since the 1970s, FBI reports have usually stated that hair tests are not adequate proof to link a suspect to a crime, since these tests can be flawed.

In cases where solely a hair analysis led to a suspect’s conviction, US courts may have mistakenly locked up innocent people – or in some cases, sentenced them to death.

“One of the things good scientists do is question their assumptions,” David Christian Hassell, director of the FBI Laboratory, told the Post. “No matter what the field, what the discipline, those questions should be up for debate. That’s as true in forensics as anything else.”

The federal review of convictions has raised awareness about the problems that hair tests can pose when there is no other evidence to prove a suspect’s guilt. Texas executes more inmates than any other US state, and its Forensic Science Commission on Friday decided to scrutinize hair cases at all labs under its jurisdiction.

The review also led to a stay of execution in May. Willie Jerome Manning, a 44-year-old man convicted of murdering two college students in 1992, was scheduled to die by lethal injection in Mississippi. But the Justice Department discovered flaws in the forensic testimony that led to his conviction, which halted the execution pending further investigation.

It is unclear how many inmates are on death row or may have been executed already as a result of faulty hair tests, but the FBI says it will announce partial results of its examination later this summer. The review is currently prioritizing cases in which defendants can be punished by execution. Once that review is complete, the agency will examine cases in which defendants are currently imprisoned.